Objective: Menopause is associated with an increased prevalence of sleep difficulties. We evaluated the economic burden of sleep disturbances among working midlife women. Methods: This retrospective, longitudinal cohort study collected data from the US Study of Women's Health Across the Nation (SWAN) database of women age 42-52 years at enrollment. We assessed the association between sleep disturbances (trouble falling asleep, waking early, or nocturnal awakenings) and workplace productivity (employment [yes/no] and work hours/wk) for women who were employed at the baseline visit and had ≥1 follow-up visit. We estimated overall economic burden by multiplying changes in productivity by median age-specific hourly US wages. Each woman's data were compared from visit to visit and were excluded after the first observed unemployment. Regression analysis was used to estimate associations between changes in sleep and changes in workplace productivity while controlling for relevant characteristics that varied over time. Results: The analysis included 2,489 working women (19,707 visits); 31% became unemployed during follow-up. Risk of unemployment was 31% higher for women with versus without new-onset sleep disturbances ( P = 0.0474). Onset of sleep disturbances was associated with a 0.44-0.57 hours/wk reduction in work time (not significant). Using the more conservative reduction (0.44 h), sleep problems were associated with an annual loss of $517 to $524 per woman and $2.2 billion/yr in lost productivity among women age 42-64 nationwide. Conclusions: New-onset sleep problems in midlife women are associated with significant increases in risk of unemployment and ∼$2 billion/yr in lost productivity nationwide. Video Summary : .

Objectives The aim of this study was to evaluate the cost effectiveness of mirabegron relative to two antimuscarinics, oxybutynin extended release (ER) and tolterodine ER, in patients with overactive bladder (OAB) from the perspective of a third-party payer in Colombia. Methods A Markov model simulated the therapeutic management, disease course, and complications in hypothetical cohorts of OAB patients over a 5-year period. The model predicted costs and three outcomes: quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs), micturition state improvement (MSI), and incontinence state improvement (ISI). In each 1-month cycle, patients could transition between different health states reflecting symptom severity. Transition probabilities were estimated from a published mirabegron trial and mixed treatment comparison. Other inputs such as treatment discontinuation based on treatment-specific rates of persistence, resource use and costs, anticholinergic burden, comorbidity treatment, and drug acquisition were obtained from Società Italiana Scienze Mediche, Instituto de Seguros Sociales Tariff Manual, published literature, and expert opinion. Deterministic and probabilistic sensitivity analyses were conducted. Costs are presented in 2017 Colombia Pesos (COP). Results Mirabegron was cost effective for all outcome measures at a willingness-to-pay threshold of 124,919,725 COP, which is three times the per capita gross domestic product (GDP). Using QALYs as the measure of effect, mirabegron had an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of 85,802,036 COP/QALY (26,365 USD/QALY) and 66,360,134 COP/ QALY (20,384 USD/QALY) versus oxybutynin and tolterodine, respectively. Probabilistic sensitivity analyses showed that mirabegron was cost effective in 99.5% and 100% of simulations compared with oxybutynin and tolterodine, respectively. Using MSI and ISI as the measure of effects yielded ICERs below one GDP. Conclusions Mirabegron is a cost effective alternative to oxybutynin and tolterodine from the perspective of a third-party payer in Colombia.

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OAB patients who persisted on mirabegron treatment for at least 180 days had lower OAB-related healthcare costs and resource utilization compared with those who switched to onabotA.

Background: Research investigating outcomes associated with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) disease progression is scarce. Developing models of DLB disease progression will provide information on the burden of disease and facilitate the evaluation of treatments for DLB from a clinical and cost perspective. Methods: Longitudinal, cognitive evaluation data were utilized in order to identify distinct health states for DLB and to estimate transition probabilities across the DLB disease continuum. These probabilities were applied to a health state transition model to evaluate disease progression and associated outcomes for a closed cohort over a fixed time horizon. The effect of a reduction in the risk of disease progression on outcomes was assessed. Results: Estimated transition probabilities indicate that a patient >60 years of age with mild DLB has a 54%, 30%, 4%, and 12% chance of remaining mild, progressing to severe DLB, being institutionalized, and dying after 1 year, respectively. Reducing the annual risk of transitioning from mild to severe DLB by 40% decreased time institutionalized and increased time to death. Conclusions: This study used real-world longitudinal data to create a clinically relevant DLB disease progression model. Reducing the rate of disease progression resulted in meaningful benefits with potentially significant public health implications.